Nail separator

ABSTRACT

Apparatus to separate nails or similar headed articles into groups in accordance with their length.

United States Patent Charchalis 51 June 20, 1972 [54] NAIL SEPARATOR 2,446,320 8/1948 Andrews ..209/98 [72] Inventor: Taras l. Charchalls, Baltimore, Md. FOREIGN PATENTS QR APPLICATIONS 1 Assignee= Bethlehem Steel Corporation 845,517 8/1960 Great Britain ..209 80 [22] Filed: Jan. 21, 1971 Primary Examiner-Richard A. Schacher [21] APP! 1%764 Attorney-Joseph J. O'Keefe [52] US. Cl. ..209/80, 209/85, 209/97 [57] ABSTRACT {2;} 'F';Z1.fl;;;;;i;::.......................11155;;5"?3Z3$33 Aaaaaaa a aaaaaaa aaila a aailaa haaaaa aaaa groups in accordance with their length. [56] References Cited 4 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures UNITED STATES PATENTS 707,142 8/1902 Mayo ..209/85 PATENTEnJuuzo 1972 3,670,884

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sum 2 OF 2 SHORT NAIL INVENTOR 7Z7ras Chara/70019 v BY KW 3 LONG NAIL NAIL SEPARATOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to a sorting device and more particularly to a device to sort articles such as nails or similar headed articles into groups according to their length.

Although the headed articles may be formed perfectly, they may vary in length. Therefore, a means of sorting according the variations in length is usually necessary. While devices have been devised to perform sorting operations, they are generally complicated and too costly to perform efficiently on small and inexpensive articles or require manual labor.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a sorting device that segregates headed articles into groups according to their length.

A further object of this invention is to provide a sorting device that is simple in construction with no moving parts.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a sorting device that is easily adjustable to accommodate articles of various predetermined dimensions.

It has been discovered that the foregoing objects can be obtained by an apparatus having a substantially trough-shaped track designed with a longitudinal slot at the bottom of the trough and a transverse slot located intermediate the ends of the longitudinal slot but in a fixed relationship with one end of the longitudinal slot.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an elevation view of the sorting apparatus the this invention applied to a conveyor for nails.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged top view of the sorting apparatus of this invention.

FlG. 3 is a sectional view taken along lines 3-3 of FIG. 1 showing the adjusting features of the sorting apparatus.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are enlarged sectional views of the sorting apparatus in operation, taken along lines 4-4 of FIG. 2. FIG. 4 illustrates the handling of a short nail, and FIG. 5 illustrate the handling of a nail of proper length.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the FIGURES and particularly FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the instant invention as adapted to sort headed nails comprises a substantially horizontal conveyor track 1 with a longitudinal slot 2, a partial cover 3 for the slot 2 and a transverse slot 4.

The track 1 is shown to be preferably V-shaped with the longitudinal slot 2 at the vertex of the V and the transverse slot located between the charging end 9 and the discharge end 10.

However, any trough-shaped track with a slotted bottom could be used. The track may be a one-piece construction or it may be a two-piece'construction with each piece supported by a frame 5 in a manner that forms the longitudinal slot 2 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The supporting frame 5, as shown in FIG. 3, is equipped with an adjusting screw 6 to permit variations in the width of the longitudinal slot 2 so that slot 2 is slightly wider than the diameter of the shank of the nails being sorted.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 a partial cover 3 is located immediately beneath the slot 2. The cover 3 is supported by an arm 7 which is attached to the frame 5. The cover is longitudinally adjustable in relation to a transverse slot 4 in track 1, and its longitudinal position is maintained by a set screw 8.

The transverse slot 4 in track 1 defines the section of the conveyor which sorts nails in accordance with the length of the shank portion of the nails. The shape of slot 4 is substantially rectangular with a length larger than the diameter of the head portion of the nail and a width smaller than the diameter of the head but larger than the thickness of the head of the nail. The dimensions of slot 4 are such that the head of the nail is papable of passing through the transverse slot 4 when the nail rs substantially horizontal but is incapable of passing through slot 4 when the nail is vertical, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

In operation the end of cover 3 is positioned a predetermined distance to the left of the transverse slot 4 with the remaining portion of the slot 2 remaining uncovered. The length of the uncovered portion of slot 2 to the left of the transverse slot 4 sets the length of the nails for sorting purposes. The remaining uncovered portion of slot 2, to the right of the transverse slot 4, provides a means to convey short nails in a suspended position to the discharge end 10 of the track 1.

The nails are then placed on the charging end 9 of the conveyor track 1 in a head first position and are caused to move toward the discharge end, by a vibrator (not shown) connected to said track. The shank portion is supported by the cover 3 and the head portion is supported by the V-shaped sidewalls. If the nail is shorter than the length of the uncovered portion of the horizontal slot 2 to the left of the transverse slot 4, the point of the nail will drop through longitudinal slot 2 when it reaches the end of cover 3 and the nail will be suspended by its head in a vertical position and continue along the conveyor as shown in FIG. 4. If the nail is sufficiently long, the head will arrive at the transverse slot 4 while the point remains supported by the cover 3. The head will then drop through the transverse slot 4 and the nail will fall as shown in FIG. 5 into a bin (not shown) below the track 1.

FIGS. 2, 4, and 5 show that the bottom of track 1 to the left of transverse slot 4 is slightly elevated in relation to the bottom of track 1 to the right of transverse slot 4, and a section 11 of track 1 to the left of transverse slot 4 is beveled to blend with track 1 to the right of transverse slot 4. The difference in elevations of track 1 and the beveled section 11 is not considered necessary for the function of sorting nails, but is considered an aid in the movement of the nails through the sorting section of track 1.

Thus it is seen that the instant invention sorts elongated headed articles in accordance with their lengths. The invention is of simple construction and is easily adjustable to accommodate sorting articles of various dimensions.

1 claim:

1. Apparatus for sorting elongated articles having a head portion and a shank portion in accordance with a predetermined length of said shank portion, comprising a substantially trough-shaped track having a longitudinal slot at the bottom of said track, and a transverse slot spaced from one end of said Y longitudinal slot by a distance equal to the predetermined length of the shank portion of the article to be sorted.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 in which a longitudinally adjustable cover is disposed immediately beneath said longitudinal slot for adjusting the length of said longitudinal slot relating to said transverse slot.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1 in which said track is provided with a means for adjusting the width of said longitudinal slot.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1 in which a vibrator is attached to said track to cause said articles to move along said track.

I i I. k l 

1. Apparatus for sorting elongated articles having a head portion and a shank portion in accordance with a predetermined length of said shank portion, comprising a substantially troughshaped track having a longitudinal slot at the bottom of said track, and a transverse slot spaced from one end of said longitudinal slot by a distance equal to the predetermined length of the shank portion of the article to be sorted.
 2. The apparatus according to claim 1 in which a longitudinally adjustable cover is disposed immediately beneath said longitudinal slot for adjusting the length of said longitudinal slot relating to said transverse slot.
 3. The apparatus according to claim 1 in which said track is provided with a means for adjusting the width of said longitudinal slot.
 4. The apparatus according to claim 1 in which a vibrator is attached to said track to cause said articles to move along said track. 